Thanks for bringing this topic up. I think this a great conversation piece. We have a few different schools of thought and potential interaction and coordination within our teams.
First I have personally worked remotely for a number of architects while I was learning my craft. Secondly I currently work with, or have worked with remote teams with my own practice. Thirdly I have remote team members who manage projects themselves as I manage their efforts and guide their direction and focus.
If you are working with remote teams and your are nervous or unfamiliar with the process I would suggest these few initial steps. First, if this is the first time that a employee is working from home, request a site visit. Make sure they have the bandwidth they need both digitally and physically; meaning that their connection speed is adequate if not you will need to upgrade them or manage their speed increase. Second do they have a special place to isolate themselves and work in a focused manor on their projects. Do they have a space designated for working? It is easy to say "Hey I would like to work from home (skip the commute, be hyper productive earlier)." But if you haven't worked from home then it is easy to skip some of the simple steps necessary to work remotely. Are you working in a place that is quite and someone can easily jump onto a MS Teams meeting quickly and go over issues? Are you able to access the companies server and move files easily to and from the office? Are you able to show your screen, explain an issue and move forward quickly?
It isn't that difficult to see if someone is able to fulfill their responsibilities within a couple of weeks working remotely. Did they produce the work that was required of them? Did they interact with the team members then needed too? Did they speak with or communicate with their direct managers in a consistent and timely manor?
This sort of analysis can work for known assets as well as remote assets; meaning that I can work with someone from Croatia as well as I can work with someone from the Scotland or someone I know who is working 30 minutes away. The key is building measurable elements into your workflow. Next is creating the comfort level you desire with the technology. For instance how do you monitor their activity and productivity now? How would that be different if you didn't see them everyday?
I could go into a lot more depth about remotely operating a architectural operation but I think it is important to understand a few pieces. What sort of architectural operation do you currently practice in? Do you like making sketches and having your team translate those into models? When do you want a project architect to have autonomy versus direct observation? I think the more that you explore remote work within the practice of architecture you can see that is a viable and economically beneficial method to running a practice, but a lot of the efficiency comes from the actual methods for production and interaction; How do you transfer files (Can you see when someone downloaded a file)? How do you interact with your team currently? How will that change if people are working from home? Is the server accessible remotely? Are there ways of working together within the same file(s) that are being leveraged in the office that can be leveraged outside of the office (outside the LAN)? Are their tools or techniques that are better suited for remotely working/operating a remote office (staff) that you are not currently using that should be implemented? Are you providing the necessary hardware, software, etc. that someone in the office has access to that a remote employee would have access to?
Now I understand that for some practitioners this might be a little over the top but I find that you should understand your workflow as the leader of the organization and insure that you can be effective in a remote environment first and foremost.
Somethings to consider if you are by nature a analog architect. Can you make a scan of your sketch and send it to someone quickly? Can you start a remote meeting with some sort of conferencing software like Microsoft Teams? Can you text, email, scan, message, conference call anyone? Okay so if you have that covered can the remote operator do the same? If so you have established a good basis for multi-modal communication, which is necessary. Next can everyone work in the same authoring software at the same time? Can you open this software and review peoples progress at anytime you choose? Can you open a model and show it to the rest of the office and assess it's completeness and accuracy without having to dive into the finite details? Can you start a video conference with someone? Can you review documents digitally and provide direction and comments? Can you review a drawing and share them with a team quickly.
Ultimately what this response is getting at, is that if you provide the methods for working remotely you can have a successful team that works remotely. If you get asked by a employee to work remotely and you aren't prepared to define the new relationship going forward it won't be successful. That is true with any relationship for the most part.
As you can tell I am a big proponent of measuring effectiveness with new technologies and allowing people to pursue alternative methods of fulfilling their tasks as long as it is executed in an effective and efficient manor. Personally I have been studying these methods since 2001 and it all comes does to the methods by which people are most effective in communicating complex ideas without being in the same room.
Cheers,
WW
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Willard Williams AIA
VDC Manager
JTM Construction
Seattle WA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-15-2020 12:30
From: Jerry Roller
Subject: Working from home
We are getting more and more requests to work from home. To date, we only allow it for family needs or for workmen at home, since we find it difficult for teams.
I am curious as to how other firms handle this issue.
Sent from my iPhone